E3: Skyward Sword Wraps the Familiar in the New

And like every Zelda game, it'll probably end up dividing its fans.

E3 is a big deal for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, it seems. Shigeru Miyamoto first revealed the game's existence at the show two years ago, and the playable version of the game debuted at E3 2010. Skyward Sword is a pretty big deal this year, too, with the three-part demo being one of the standout titles on the show floor. On top of that, a live, closed-door demo by producer Eiji Aonuma at Nintendo's Developers Roundtable gave a clearer picture of some of Skyward Sword's deeper and more esoteric elements as well.

Click the image above to check out all The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword screens.

Skyward Sword's three-section public E3 demo consists of a dungeon, a boss battle, and a bird-riding sequence. Chronologically, the bird-riding appears to come first -- it's a competitive sporting event set in Link's skybound hometown, and the hero participates in it while wearing a rustic tunic rather than his usual green garb. Unfortunately, it drags on a bit, seemingly upholding the recent Zelda tradition of starting out a little too slowly.

The bird-riding event feels vaguely Harry Potter-inspired, as four boys on birds chase a golden bird, trying to grab a statue affixed to its tail feathers. After a while, the other competitors start chucking eggs at Link to slow him down. I will refrain from making references to bludgers and snitches and such, because I'd rather not embarrass myself... but in any case, Link's steed is controlled (like so much of Skyward Sword) with Wii Motion Plus.

The orientation of the Wii remote determines the pitch, yaw, and roll of the bird; the B button is a sort of brake; and the A button works exactly like Epona's carrots, making the bird dash forward briefly. It controls perfectly and is completely intuitive; the problem is just that it takes forever to complete the race. In fact, it's apparently so pokey that the lady demoing the game was surprised when I actually won; no one else had bothered/been able to finish the race. It's worth enduring the slow pace, though, as upon your victory you first meet this game's Princess Zelda, a slight girl with blond pigtail braids and rather Scandinavian features. It's a different look for Zelda, but her unique appearance helps define Skyward Sword as a game set in a far different time and place than the rest of the series.

The mediocre bird race marks a sour start for an otherwise extraordinary demo. The dungeon and bosses portion of the Skyward Sword demo show the potential of Wii Motion Plus to tremendous effect. Every element of the dungeon is keyed to a different facet of the system's advanced motion controls, yet it never feels fragmented or confusing. Link carries into the demo a handful of weapons: Bombs, arrows, a slingshot, and a boomerang-like beetle. Each of these plays a different role.

The beetle, for example, is used to target a crystal above a door that must be struck to unlock it. Once Link aims the beetle in the general direction of the crystal and releases it, players can control the course of its flight by twisting and rotating the controller. The arrows can be used to target skulltula-like spiders dangling from the ceiling, which are invincible under normal circumstances. Instead, you fire at their web strands, causing them to plummet to the ground. On the ground, the spiders remain largely invisible; only a sword strike from beneath can injure them, causing them to flip over and expose their vulnerable undersides. It sounds like a giant enemy crab joke waiting to happen, but in truth you don't really notice a gaming cliché in action because the act and urgency of properly striking the spider is too immersive. Striking a killing blow is satisfying, too -- you jab sharply downward with both the nunchuk and Wii remote, simulating the act of a powerful two-handed sword thrust. It's simple but effective.

Click the image above to check out all The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword screens.

Inside the locked door is a chamber where Link battles a massive Stalfos skeleton warrior. It's here that you realize Skyward Sword is a game about sword fighting, one that's determined to leave even Wind Waker's deft combat in the dust. The Stalfos has a wide array of battle postures, each of which leaves only a narrow defensive opening to strike. The bruiser can parry any strike with ease, and only by swinging at the proper angle can you inflict any damage at all. And this isn't a battle you can win by simply wailing away at the bad guy; try and press the advantage and the Stalfos quickly recovers, countering with a powerful blow that depletes about a quarter of Link's max health. Unlike other recent Zelda titles, which chip away at your health a measly quarter-heart at a time, Skyward Sword lays on the damage like it means it.

Impressive as the Stalfos battle is, it pales compared to the main event: a fight against what appears to be Skyward Sword's main villain, the Demon Lord Ghiraham. While decidedly effeminate-looking, wearing a white costume that exhibits a Harlequin-like design, Ghiraham is a stunningly capable swordsman. Again, the angle of Link's sword strikes is key here; attack Ghiraham's guard and he'll catch your blade between two fingers and hold, forcing you to pull fiercely in order to escape. While he plays a mostly defensive game at first, once you've inflicted a fair amount of damage he switches to a more aggressive posture, dashing at you with a tough-to-evade running strike and summoning projectiles. Skillful play is the key to victory here, and there's no one single correct pattern.

Unlike typical Zelda bosses, where you use a tool to expose a weak point and hit it three times, Ghiraham is all about bread-and-butter sword skills and doesn't have an easily exploited pattern. He can definitely be beaten, but it requires true skill. Producer Aonuma says, "As far as sword fights go, he can be pretty tricky, but with the new control mechanics introduced, I want to people to try it out and experience a boss fight with the motion controls."

While the show floor demo gives a sense of Skyward Sword's battle mechanics, its larger play concepts were revealed for the first time in Aonuma's demo. The first of these is dousing -- that is, using the sword itself to reveal things. Here he also revealed in action the spirit of the sword, Fie, who appears to be the phantom who will seemingly become the Master Sword. Fie first appeared in the Skyward Sword teaser art two years ago, a wraithlike girl (or girl-like wraith) whose face and cloak resemble the pommel and hilt of the classic Master Sword. Like all Zelda characters, Fie speaks in a form of gibberish, but hers is interesting -- her voice sounds like an autotuned Vocaloid.

With Fie in hand, Link can shift into a first-person view and use her sword form to guide him to key items. In the case of the E3 demo, those items came in the form of five shards of some sort of item for a pair of Crash Bandicoot-like creatures called Mogmas. Fie can lead Link to his MacGuffins, but this being a Zelda game, those MacGuffins will likely be hidden behind puzzles.

Interestingly, in the course of exploring and unlocking items, this Link is far more vocal than in previous games. He doesn't just shout when attacking or in pain but also grunt and moans and wheezes when he sprints. Speaking of sprinting, Link has a stamina meter that actually isn't entirely unlike the sprint meter in Halo Reach -- it empties as he runs and refills once he stops. Unlike in Reach, though, if you completely deplete the meter, Link becomes sluggish and winded for a while... a fact that ended up undermining the second portion of the closed-door demo, in fact.

That portion of the demo demonstrated new twists on some carryover mechanics from previous Zelda games. The first is the "Siren World," which is Skyward Sword's rendition of a longstanding series tradition: The dual world. Like the Dark World of A Link to the Past or the Twilit Realm of Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword's alternate dimension is a darker take on the main game world. It's saturated with blue or red, unlike the real world's largely green palette. And, much like the Dark World, it leaves Link almost completely helpless.

Herein lay the part that's likely to irritate fans. The core gimmick of the Siren World bears a striking resemblance to the central dungeons of Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks: Invincible phantom guardians that cannot be fought, only evaded by dashing to safe zones. In Aonuma's demo, Link entered the Siren World by thrusting his sword into a symbol in the ground, leaving his weapon in the real world in order to unlock the alternate realm. Upon arriving, he was tasked with collecting a number of tear-shaped items before being caught by the guardians. His arrival point in the Spirit World was a sort of neutral turf that made him invisible to the guardians, but the instant he set foot on normal ground the guardians awoke and began pursuit. And since Link is defenseless in the Siren World, a single attack by a guardian spells the end.

Click the image above to check out all The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword screens.

Link has two weapons in the Siren World: His agility and his MacGuffins. The demo really showed off this Link's athleticism; he has access to a number of parkour-like moves such as scrambling up walls to reach cliffs that really lent him a sense of capability. But perhaps more importantly to the task at hand, the tear icons he collected would reset the guardians to their default positions and initiate a timer that determines when they'll move again.

Aonuma encourages gamers learn Skyward Sword's environments, as exploring areas in the "real" world will be a huge advantage when faced with Siren World challenges in the same area.

"Environments that lead to dungeons are like dungeons in and of themselves," he says. "Typically in a Zelda game, you clear an area and then move on, but this time you'll return to environments multiple times because there will be new challenges and puzzles to complete... The big idea here is becoming familiar with your environments and how they're laid out, because you're going to interact with them multiple ways."

There are a few dark clouds hovering over Skyward Sword's E3 presentation: The spectre of Phantom Hourglass' most despised mechanic, the dull bird-riding portion, and the fact that Nintendo was showing off a high-definition conceptual version of Zelda whose visuals utterly and completely put Skyward Sword's graphics to shame. Fortunately, the strength of the combat and the expansive world design do much to alleviate these concerns.

The Big N can't win...

A certain number of people have really turned on Nintendo over the last decade or so and it seems like they just simply won't make up their minds. Either they make changes and everyone throws a fit (a la Windwaker/Double Dash) or they keep things the same and people throw a fit (Twilight Princess/Galaxy 2).

To a degree I understand people's arguments of franchise fatigue (particularly for older/more experienced gamers) but at the same time... Nintendo's core franchises (not counting the numerous bs Mario spin-offs) release on an almost glacial pace compared with other major franchises... There have been 3 3D style games (plus Majora's Mask which I didn't count because it breaks the main formula) that have appeared on home consoles since 1998! By comparison there have been 5 (maybe 4 if you choose not to count ODST and also not counting Halo Wars) Halo games in the last 10 years, there has been 7 Call of Duty games in the past 8 years, 3 God of War games in the past 6 years (not counting the 2 on PSP)... I could go on and on.

I understand a lot of games press guys that are my age or a few years older complaining of franchise fatigue but I think when you consider that much of the audience is much younger and hasn't really grown up playing every single Zelda/Mario game, the issue is largely overblown.

People say there's no innovation or change in the franchise... what about other franchises? That said, I would really like to see Nintendo move the franchise back to a more open direction (more in the vein of the original Zelda - one of the first mainstream open world games) as opposed to the get this to unlock that, which it has become.

I'm looking forward to Skyward Sword quite a bit and I really hope that the Wii motion plus doesn't get tedious over the course of the game...

Fully Agreed

I would love to hear haters hate :) People are just not satisfied with what they have. To spin this point further, it seems the spoiled cannot fathom a gaming company to not come up with new ideas. I was poor for most of my childhood and getting a game from Nintendo was a big deal for me on my birthdays and christmases. I think that the more money you spend of this, the less likely you will appreciate what you have.

I own quite a few games now but that's becuase I worked for my money to pay for them. These are luxuries and for someone to be ungrateful enough to say "Pfft, nintendo has nothing to offer", then let us, the people who enjoy it as a luxury, play these games and go on your way to the umteenth rendition of violence and shooting of another war game that doesn't do much more than satisfy ADD, red bull'd man children.

Cheers for those who remember gaming is: A luxury and a leisure that all cannot afford everywhere in the world.

I guess I agree with what you're saying

As a whole statement it's pretty accurate. I guess that I'm just personally tired. I've been playing Zelda since the golden cartgridge of the NES. By the time I got to Twilight Princess I was burned out. It's just stale.

I REALLY loved Wind Waker. For once it seemed the series would really shake things up, the sailing, the graphics. But everyone chucked a wobbly. I guess people want the same stuff. I'm a fan of and Halo Honestly, if in 20 years I'm playing the same thing with a new coat of paint, if the game has only made graphical changes count me out.

I still get a sweet nostalgic buzz when ever I see Zelda, but it's not enough to drag me into another water temple.

I would really love it if they totally messed with the series. Did something wildy outrageous with the genre or the mechanics. But why mess with the money? If it sells ...

As excited as I am for this...

I somehwat get discourageed by Nintendo and basically their lack of care for the game. Never before have I seen such a lackluster attempt at advertising a ZELDA title. Poor E3 2010 trailer unveiling, poor internet/tv/magazine advertising, release dates getting pushed further and further back, and again little news on the game even at E3 2011. Not only that, but they showcased a much better looking Zelda game at E3. It's almost like they feel embarassed by this Zelda and the lack of support it has gotten from the fans.

Yo diría más bien: "Para nada mal, Nintendo."

If you are going to incorporate (somewhat) realistic sword-fighting then motion control sounds like the way to go. The idea sounds coherent enough given the nature of motion controls and the result might end up giving fighting a more "natural" feel.

I am somewhat interested in this game again. It's starting to look more 'hardcore'. However, the flying section sounds horrible and Ghiraham's looks are very unappealing to me but I can let the anime-character mannerisms slide if the gameplay delivers. I'll be looking forward to this Zelda.

This...

...was something I had hoped to put forth to the developers at the closed-door demo's Q&A session. Miyamoto had spent a portion of the session talking about bringing the people who prefer Star Fox's up controls to go up/down to go down, and vice-versa together through the 3DS gyroscope.

Following that, I wanted to ask if there was any attempt to do the same for Zelda fans who might prefer sword-wielding with their left hand, since this is the first game in the series to really have anything on this scale (TP's shaking doesn't quite count).

Sadly, I was not called upon to ask a question. But we did learn about whatever happened to the Vitality Sensor. ;P

QUESTION!

Now I know the demo(s) are pretty limited, but in the more free-form, private one was there any sense of a "metroidvania"? I ask becuase Nintendo seems pretty keen on talking about how dungeon-ish the overworld is, and how you'll have to backtrack more than ever in this game. I guess.. there's not a lot to talk about in that regard, since there weren't a lot of items available, and there's no way to know the full scope of Link's abilities.. but I just wonder if there's even a small blip of that kind of gameplay sprinkled in.

funny thing

I was a huge Zelda fan. I've played every console/handheld Zelda game ever made. This will probably be the first one I wont play. And its not because the graphics look way outdated (which they are) or because im not a fan of waggle controls (which im not). Its because the franchise, imo has gotten way too "noob" friendly. I could of finished TP with my eyes closed. Also, they really need to get rid of all that screen clutter, it really takes away from the immersion factor. I love the Zelda franchise but I just cant get myself excited for this game.

lol

Noob friendly

Considering the franchise is 25 years old some people are new to the party. That may be the problem with many franchises. Look at Madden, if you haven't played it before because you're new to gaming, for example you got an xbox because of kinect and wanted another great game, you would be so confused. Too many franchises have alienated new players and not just new gamers. Everyone should be able to enjoy it not just fans. The gaming industry should take a note from the movie industry. Look at Transformers the movie. No where close to the real story but fans and noobs can enjoy the ride.

RE:

@kof4life: Yes, I fully understand that, but thats no reason not to give the hardcore the stuff they like. Im one of many who grew up with NES that now feel like the big N has forgotten about us. Go back to OoT. The differences in challenge is huge. I think its time Nintendo should finally add difficulty settings to their games.

RE:

@kof4life: Yes, I fully understand that, but thats no reason not to give the hardcore the stuff they like. Im one of many who grew up with NES that now feel like the big N has forgotten about us. Go back to OoT. The differences in challenge is huge. I think its time Nintendo should finally add difficulty settings to their games.

Lolwut

OoT, hard? Seriously, dude? I can play that game, get every heart piece, and every bottle with my eyes closed. Majora's Mask? That had some challenge in it, but no Zelda has ever been "hard." This game sounds perfectly challenging in its own way, and I see no reason to bash it. Also, when has Nintendo made the graphics the focus of their games? Hardly ever.

Wait...

How can you say these graphics are outdated? They're hand crafted to specifically look modern no matter what generation you play the game. I guess that's your opinion so I shouldn't argue, but then you say 'waggle'. You claim to be from the NES era so I guess you have to be at least 25, so how is it that you don't seem to understand the difference between 'waggle' and 'one to one' control with swords. Now, maybe you arn't one of the ones who have been dying to get a lightsaber game like so many back when the Wii first came out. But have you seen the Star Wars game for Kinect? From what I've seen of Skyward Sword, Zelda blows Star Wars out of the water with sword control. You can't just go nuts on an enemy and hope to hit something. You have to aim to hit a specific spot, or position your sword to block the enemy swing. Maybe you should do more research before jumping ship on what I think is one of the best looking Zelda games since Wind Waker. And I'm from the NES era as well.

(I do agree with the screen clutter, however...we all know where the buttons are on a controller...)

Sword fighting

I really hope the game incorporates sword fighting actively, rather than just a handfull of enemies. Actually using your controller as a sword can really put this game on a different level than anything else. This preview seems to fortify the notion that you have to skillfully use your sword techniques at all times, but only playing the full game will reveal the truth in its entirety.

The game looks awesome

Both graphic and gameplay-wise. It takes the best of the WW and TP and mixes it into one great looking and playing game. The bird riding game looks pretty neat, it's a nice break from dungeon exploring. As for the sword play, looks like they are serious about it, and the Siren World and invincible guardians, looks like they might work on a console game, didn't have a prob with PH and ST, so I welcome a good challenge. Can't wait for this, could be the best Zelda game ever.

Another Divide?

This game could cause it, merging some of the not so liked DS ideas with the console Zelda, and the art direction which could also be another split. I think Nintendo wants that type of idea with Zelda and I personally look forward to how this should play out.

I was expecting Dragons...

but no. i guess they didnt want to make it seem like how to train your dragon, so they made them ride giant shoebills intead, but like jeremy said, it is now reminiscent of harry potter. shoebills.... what in the world brought them to giant, colorful shoebills?

Parish is an established hater...

...of most things that are fun, yes, but especially of this game, which he also tore into last year

Personally I think this is the most beautiful-looking visual style the series has taken on yet. The unplayable Wii U demo was indeed pretty, but it's not a real game either, so who gives a flip? CGI movie releases look better than gameplay footage on any platform, but you can't PLAY them.

Watched the bird-riding portion on IGN's live demo; I dug it and through it looked rather exhilarating.

I didn't like having to flee from unkillable guards in the DS games, but that's mostly because fleeing rapidly felt difficult with the touchscreen controls. Hopefully using a stick that immediately responds to your desires will give me that sense of fluidity I need to really evade.

I'm not sure...

...I'd call this article "tearing into it", or call him a hater. It's pretty balanced. Everything is in the eye of the beholder, and it sounds like it's Zelda with some possibly divisive elements (i.e. elements from Phantom Hourglass). It would be wrong if he _didn't_ point these things out.

This is a well reasoned, well writen preview

Yeah

It's firmly established that SniperZombie doesn't read well, because the constant jerking of his knee constantly distracts him. Anyway, I spent an hour this morning making sure Skyward Sword snagged a few Best of E3 nominations. Clearly that is the work of a hater.

You got Metal Gear in my Zelda!

is not the game its the GRAPHICS.

ZELDA Skyward Sword is fine But, ZELDA HD demo is another thing , is the type of game that any zelda´s lover deserves ,because the graphics are what everyone expects from this type of series, we hope with the Wii U,give us more respect with graphics and not once again give the type graphics of the power puff girls.

ill put up with it

sure, the gurdians will tick me off when i play it, but i must admit, i did feel satisfaction when i beat them in the ds games. i hope the same here. i could also see this causing some really cinimatic chase scenes. or some really intense ones. i remember the chase scene from half life 2 episode 2 the best with the big ant lion. it was intense. it would be cool if they do that here, by having you have to run away from the said beast while quickly examining your environment for the way to get out.

Hey speak for yourself f*ckers!

I loved the central dungeon in Phantom Hourglass, it was interesting and fresh and combined stealth and puzzle gameplay well. Each return brought slight variations to the already explored paths allowing for shortcuts, and of course the newer areas deeper in the dungeon.

Don't see why people complain about invincible enemies, that's the whole point of stealth gameplay, not to engage. I'd find this a lot more interesting than just barreling through enemies like a madman. Link has the TriForce of Courage, not the TriForce of Super Unstoppable Rambo Essence.

agreed

i too enjoyed the dungeons. at times. sometimes they made me mad, but when you solve them you can enjoy it much more. its a good mix up. and seeing how this particular zelda game focuses on combat so much, i think they need to give you a break in between with these stealth levels.